Chicken Wonton Soup

Prep Time: 40 Mins

Cook Time: 5 Mins

Total Time: 45 Mins

Serves: 60-70 wontons

The best-frozen meal is wontons. You make a big batch and freeze them uncooked, when ready to eat, they can be boiled from frozen and taste just as good as fresh. Ground chicken is my meat of choice but ground pork is also great.

Ingredients

300g napa cabbage, washed and finely chopped

¾ teaspoon salt

8-10 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried)

1 tablespoon oil

500g ground chicken

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

¼ cup scallions, finely chopped

1 ½ tablespoons Shaoxing wine

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons water (from the soaking mushrooms or salting the cabbage

300-400g wonton wrappers (60-70 wrappers)

Directions

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1. Transfer the chopped napa cabbage to a bowl and mix in ¾ teaspoon salt. Set aside for 20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients, then squeeze out the water and reserve some for later.

2. Pre-soak the mushrooms if using dried shiitake mushrooms (then squeeze any water from the mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid––if using fresh mushrooms, skip this step). Cut the mushrooms into small 0.5cm pieces.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and cook the mushrooms for about 5-8 minutes until caramelized.

4. To make the filling: combine the chicken, napa cabbage, cooked mushrooms, ginger, scallions, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of liquid from either soaking the mushrooms or salting the cabbage (if you have neither, just use water). Stir the mixture until the filling is well combined

5. Prepare a large sheet pan to place the wontons, and fill a small bowl with room temperature water. Bring a small pot of water to boil, so you can taste test a few wontons.

6. To assemble the wontons, take your square wonton wrapper, wet your finger, and dab one side of the square with water. Add 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the center, and gently fold the wrapper in half. Seal on all sides. Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently overlap the two corners of the rectangle by pressing them together. Place on the sheet pan.

7. Cook a couple of wontons (5 minutes) to asses flavour and adjust seasoning before making the whole batch.

8. To cook the wontons, boil water in a pot, and add the wontons (fresh or frozen, but never defrosted wontons). To prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot, stir the boiling water gently so the water is moving when you add in the wontons. Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes over medium heat. The wontons are done once they float to the surface and turn slightly plump. (Cooking frozen wontons takes longer, about 8 minutes.)

9. You can serve the wontons in a simple soup adding them to a chicken broth with some thinly sliced green onions as garnish or make a dipping sauce (soy sauce or peanut sauce are both great).

• Storing Tips

  Cooked leftovers keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Uncooked frozen wontons last for 3-4 months in the freezer.

• Nutrition

  Per 1 wonton (60 total):

  Calories: 36

  Carbohydrates: 4g

  Protein: 2g

  Fat: 1g

  Saturated Fat: 0g

  Fiber: 0g

  Sugar: 0g